The Story Of A Blind Date

It was a Sunday afternoon, just like any other, and I was heading to my grandparent’s house. I pulled into their driveway and excitedly jumped from my car and took the path to their backdoor that I always came through. I knocked the usual three knocks, “bang, bang, bang.” I heard their small dog Zack barking, so I knew they must be home. Seconds later, my mema answered the door, very happy to see me. She walked me to the living room where she and Grandpa always sit. It was then that I told my grandpa that I wanted to ask him some questions about how he met Mema. He jokingly replied, “Peyton, that’s been a long time. But I’ll try my best.” I laughed and told him with a smile, “That’s all I’m looking for.”
I knew most of this story, …show more content…
I could see his desire to give me every detail of this special moment in his life, and finally, after a few moments of silence, he answered. “It was a blind date. September 1959.” I realize that blind dates are not that uncommon, but from my perspective this was amazing. The only thing my grandparents knew about one another, upon going on their first date, was what they had heard from one of my grandmother’s friends. A farm boy moves miles away from home because he wants to protect his country, and he then meets his soon to be wife of fifty-six years on a blind date. The whole situation was truly unbelievable, and to top all of that, my grandpa also informed me that he was late for their date. Although, he claimed, “I don’t remember that part, but your grandmother swears by it.” Now I was getting somewhere. I had what I thought to be the bulk of this love story, but I was definitely wrong. Eventually, I found myself asking about his dating life with Mema. He began to tell me that after their first date they became pretty steady. They did all of their dating in Minnesota while Grandpa was still in the Army, and their blind friendship slowly grew into a deep love, which led to their marriage on June 22, 1960. Following their marriage, I knew they moved around a lot, but I did not know the precise …show more content…
I was astonished, so much moving and still together they stayed. I found myself wondering what could keep two people together for fifty-six years. “True love, compatibility, and a mutual love for Christ.” It was a perfect answer, so simple yet still so powerful. That answer is also consistent with what he told the Herald-Citizen, Cookeville, Tennessee’s, local newspaper, a few short years ago. When asked how he and my mema had made it to their fiftieth anniversary, he responded, ““Keep the lines of communication open, be patient and consider each other’s feelings always, [and] always keep God in your life” (Herald-Citizen A-11). Knowing this left me with one final question. I wanted to know if he knew he would be spending the rest of his life with this woman he met on a blind date. I was expecting a lengthy heartfelt answer, but anyone who knows my grandpa could have seen this coming. He responded with these words, “We hit it off pretty good. I